The Weekender Episode 13: Nola Laundry Room Makeover

Hey Guys! This post is part of The Weekender Makeover Series. A DIY Makeover web series in partnership with Lowe’s Home Improvement. You can watch Season 1 + 2 on your streaming devices or by subscribing to Lowe’s YouTube channel.

This weekend I headed back to New Orleans to visit Allen and help him makeover his mudroom/laundry room. Allen, now a young business professional, was born and raised in New Orleans and was forced to evacuate when Hurricane Katrina hit, so he lived a few years in Texas. Allen loved New Orleans so much he came back for work and bought his first home and fully renovated it into a place he can now call home again.

Most people want a bedroom or living room makeover, but when Allen said he wanted a laundry room makeover, and also a space where he can entertain guests, it was such a unique request I couldn’t say no! His shotgun-style home has connecting rooms, so you have to walk through every room to go from front to back door, and Allen has a killer backyard space so he wanted this space to be an extension of that area.

Because Allen’s home was recently renovated, my job was bringing some style and custom pieces into this space with a little bit of paint, stain and simple builds we took this basic laundry room from builder grade to custom and cool, and definitely fit for some entertaining.

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It’s not a Weekender makeover without 5 projects, so here they are…

Guys, I don’t know if you’ve seen the prices of high-end wallpaper these days, but it get’s pretty pricy. I’m here with some great news that you can get that look for a heck of a lot less! With a can of paint and some chip brushes we were able to create this hand-done, unique striped accent wall. Using Valspar’s Hampton Surf Paint, we painted vertical stripes spaced about 2 inches from each other on two of the walls of Allen’s laundry room. We used inexpensive chip brushes to get a textured, ‘controlled messy’ look– if we’re doing this by hand make it intentional!

Since this space was multi-purpose mudroom, laundry room, and entertainment space, I wanted to give Allen a little spot to hang some bags, coats and store his shoes while extending the feel of the rest of the house into this room. With a few pieces of plywood we were able to create this bench! You’ll need a piece of plywood for the seat of the bench however long you want that to be. You’ll also need some support pieces cut at 45-degree angles on one side, and 90-degrees on the other to sit up against the wall under your bench, and two smaller pieces of wood to sit flush on the wall and screw everything into. We also attached two piece of wood from seat to floor for extra support so you can sit and take all the time you need to decide what shoes you’ll wear each morning.

This build is basically the bench build but at a larger scale. First we measured, cut and screwed in a 3/4″ piece of plywood as a ledger board so the bar has something to anchor to. Next we took a Cabinet Hinge and screwed that into the back side of the plywood top so you can flip that up and down against the wall when you’re not using it. Next, screw the other half of that hinge into the front of the ledger board on the wall. For the table supports, we used the same pieces from the bench build, and attached decorative hinges on each set of wood cuts so this whole piece can be collapsable when you’re not using it!

Best part about this project? It’s a bar set-up and laundry folding station, and it’s at the perfect height for both. Add some bar stools even!

These waterfall countertops are trending and for a very good reason– they’re super cute and totally functional! I might not do much laundry at my own house, but I’m assuming it’s convenient to have as much table surface as you can get in a laundry room– folding, sorting… I don’t know, what else do you do in a laundry room?!

This build was super simple– two piece of plywood with 45-degree mitered edges and we joined them together for a perfect 90-degree angle to encase the washer and dryer units. To install, we first created a ledger board on the wall for the counter top piece to rest on. Using some wood glue and a nail gun, we laid the top piece against the wall on the ledger board, then added the side piece of the counter securing with some wood glue and a nail gun. We stained the countertop, then slid in the washer and dryer and voila!

And of course a laundry room makeover wouldn’t be a complete makeover without a new washer and dryer! Allen’s old washer and dryer were top loads, which weren’t going to work with our waterfall countertop idea, so it was his lucky day! We installed the LG TwinWash Energy Star Front-Load Washer and Dryer units which were a nice, clean white to match the trim and new fold-down bar in this space.

Well this makeover was definitely a first– laundry room and entertaining space, but after visiting Allen and seeing his vision for his home it kinda made more sense to me! If you liked this makeover, be sure to check out the rest of Season 2!

-Mon

Don’t miss a single Weekender Episode of Season 2- You can watch all Season 1 + 2 Episodes right HERE!

*The Weekender Series is a paid collaboration with Lowe’s Home Improvement. I’m thankful for the brands that believe in the mission of East Coast Creative and support my work

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Monica Mangin owns East Coast Creative and is the visionary behind its various creative endeavors. Designer, DIYer, TV Host, and Brand Ambassador, Monica is driven and energized by her creative passions. She is committed to making amazing style and experiences attainable and accessible for real life.